Birth Name: Mario Gabriele Andretti
Place of Birth: Montona, Istria, Kingdom of Italy (now Motovun, Istria County, Croatia)
Date of Birth: February 28, 1940
Ethnicity: Italian
Family Background: Mario Andretti is an Italian American former racing driver.
Mario was born to Rina and Alvise Luigi Andretti, in Montona, Istria, Croatia, which was then part of the Italy. Mario’s family left Montona in 1948, and spent time in a refugee camp in Lucca, Tuscany after World War 2. The family moved to the U.S. in 1955, settling in Nazareth in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley.
Mario became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1964.
Mario’s sons, Michael Andretti and Jeff Andretti, were also auto racers, as Mario’s nephew, John Andretti.
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